By Jessica Reed
Ian Mackenzie is a media-graduate freelance writer and web-designer based in Vancouver, BC, Canada. He wrote extensively about human rights, Buddhism and modern media, and his involvement in online activism recently led him to run the website Liberatefreedom.com, which aims to encourage people to reconquer their own personal meaning of the word 'freedom'.
Last weekend Ian spoke with me from Vancouver about this new campaign, and what he hope it would achieve:
Hello Ian, to start with what about a couple of words about your current role in the launch of this new website?
I am the editor, webmaster, designer, and technical guru for The Global Campaign to Liberate Freedom.
Who is responsible for this campaign, and how was it brought to life? Was there any political or philosophical epiphanies involved?
The Campaign to Liberate Freedom launched Sept 11, 2006, exactly five years after the attacks on the WTC towers, by myself and Alan Clements, a former Buddhist monk turned author/activist. The launch date wasn’t on purpose, though it is certainly fitting as it represents an integral turning point in co-option of freedom, and the aim of the campaign.
Basically, the idea of “freedom” has been hijacked by various political/corporate interests to further their own gain. We’re told that Islamic terrorists want to kill us for our freedom, and so we must “deliver” freedom unto them. And yet while these governments speak of the term, they secretly wiretap their citizens, hold people in prison without charge, and encourage a climate of fear and ignorance.
And so the campaign is calling for a reclaimation of freedom by asking people from all over the world to contribute a poem, a song, a reflection, a story, or a rant on what freedom means to them, and how the term can be liberated from fear, indoctrination and war. These entries are then collected and published online in the Living Archive and shared for others to comment, discuss, and hopefully, catalyze them into action.
Are you targetting an already "politically-aware" audience, or are you hoping to spread your idea as broadly as possible?
We’re targeting anyone who is wondering what is going on in the world today and wants to do something about it. After all, war is raging in the Middle East, civil liberties are being restricted at home, the natural environment is in a shambles, and we’re being told it will all work out if we “stay the course.” The Campaign to Liberate Freedom reaches beyond geographical and intellectual boundaries to connect with our common humanity and celebrate in our diversity.
Do you consider your initiative to be political in any way, or do you come from a more philosophical -or even moral- stance?
I wouldn’t say the Campaign is political, in that we’re not advocating our denouncing any specific side of the spectrum. We’re interested in what lies beyond politics, and how we can share our knowledge of freedom to pressure those in power to produce positive change. It’s really about getting people fired up by realizing they’re not alone in their desire to make a difference.
Do you hope it will have a true impact on people, or even Institutions?
I believe anyone who starts a campaign of this nature hopes they have a true impact. But the problem is how to measure the impact, and at what time. I believe no one person, group, or nation can force the outcome of the entire world. It’s rarely even possible to draw direct conclusions between such intangible initiatives like the “meaning of freedom.” After all, we have no way of monitoring who visits the site, what they take away from that visit, and how they then choose to affect the world around them. But I also believe when you attempt to foster creativity, compassion, and shared knowledge, good things will happen.
Do you think the meaning of freedom changed over time, and that people now have a different notions of it compared to a decade, 50 years or even a century ago?
Freedom has the distinction of something that you really only think about when it’s restricted or taken away. In that sense it is as essential and invisible as oxygen. I can’t say if the meaning of freedom has changed over time, though I suspect its essence has remained the same. Burma’s imprisoned Nobel Peace laureate Aung San Suu Kyi speaks about “freedom from fear” as being the most important aspect, and with so many in the world in fear, I agree with her.
